Promised Land on Earth

Jude Asher Lintelman has hit the scene

2011-10-20T18:01:00.000-05:00

There is not much sweeter and more unreal than the gift of a fresh little life joining us, sent straight from heaven. Jude Asher is one of the cutest, sweetest little things God has created so far! Look at that face, people!!! Could anyone dare to disagree????

We're so thankful that God has given him to us for one whole month now! He just got here and he's already awesome...that's what we say about him!

The real honest truth of it is that even though he is one whole month old, Paul, the kids and I haven't gotten to meet him yet. Yes, that's right. He's my sweet baby nephew that I love SO dearly and I haven't even gotten to smell him yet (that's my favorite part after all...that smell!!!). He was born 4 weeks before my due date for Miss Molly. Doc said NO to my proposed 5 hour trip to meet him. Bummed. I cried all day the day he was born and STILL cry every time I hear his sweet sounds over the phone.

Look at that face...how could you NOT love him???? I haven't even met him and I already love him SO much!

Jude, we love you sweet boy! We can't wait to meet you and introduce you to your cousin Molly! She will love you and you will love her, I just know it! You will cause all kinds of mischief together, I'm sure. And that's just as it should be.

Until we meet know that you are loved and prayed for every single day and we thank God for giving you to us!!!

Love, Auntie, Uncle Paul, Benjamin, Cait and Molly

Molly's Room

2011-10-20T15:26:00.001-05:00

So these are the long awaited (for me) pictures of Molly's little room!! YAY! They are long awaited because we've been plugging away on little details for what seems like forever! Truth be told, we're still working on a few things, but we are mostly done and she has a sweet little room waiting for her now!

Here is her bed. LOVE IT! Had to be pink for our girl! Paul is of course...AMAZING...and he built all this board and batten on the wall for a great effect. He's got crazy cool skills like that!

Here's her window where we splurged on some blackout curtains that will hopefully aid in the sleeping department very soon! Yes, that's a little birdcage hanging in the corner with some branches and a little pink bird perched inside.

The last feature to be added was this sweet chandelier. It was back ordered when we sent off for it weeks and weeks ago. Well, it finally came and now it's in place too!

Here's a better look at it with the medallion on the ceiling.

A few little surprises here and there...

Here's her little changing table/dresser. We did this grouping of frames above that is clearly not finished yet. Most if it requires her to be born...like her REAL footprints and not the side of her momma's hand, trying to LOOK like footprints. Also, the empty white frames are for pictures of this little baby girl. They're sitting empty waiting for that!

Look What he Built!!!

2011-10-18T17:43:00.000-05:00

My hubby is so amazing!! Like, seriously amazing! He has gone and done it again. I shared with you awhile back the bookshelves he made for Cait's room and he has worked with me to refinish and repurpose lots of different pieces of furniture. But this latest project might be my favorite (next to Molly's room which I'll share soon).

This is our home school room.

Steps of progress so far:
1) Bought farm table off Craig's list for $100 and painted the bottom a rustic red, distressed it and glazed over with antiquing stuff.
2) Found 2 chairs in neighbor's trash that were, well, trashed. Cat claw marks, no salvagable cushions...an utter mess. A little sanding, wood putty, paint, new foam and cute material, and viola! New chairs.
3) Bought a desk and chair set off Craig's List for $70. Painted the bottom part white, sanded and then stained over to give it that old look. LOVE!!!!

4) Built 2 HUGE bookshelves to fit the space we had to house all of our home school goodies.

5) Paul thought up the idea to recreate a huge vintage ruler. He even made a huge deal about it to the kids regarding what it said. "The Royal Standard" being a reminder that God wants them to work with all their hearts as working for Him and not for men (or mom in most cases). LOVE it! LOVE him!

Still to be done...paint/stain some crates for more home school goodies to fill up bottom shelves. and frame in map on wall. Also, add a few more globes just cause we want to!

Fun, huh?

I have to keep a record here or I'll never appreciate all the work we've done and how far we've come in the year and half that we've lived here and been setting up house. I'm tired just typing all this!! HA!! Thanks for letting me brag on my man a little!

School So Far

2011-10-15T20:36:00.001-05:00

We've been busy this year! I can't believe we're already on week 10 of school!
This post is mostly going to be pics, but I wanted to highlight some of our fun year so far!

Geography Fair
The kids got together with some of their other home school buddies and did an in depth study of a country of their choice. This was a great learning experience for both of my kids and they really took a lot of initiative, which is encouraging to see.

Benjamin chose China. He did a great job choosing books, reading al on his own and even taking great little notes. He taught us all a lot about China. Did you know that The Great Wall of China is the largest man made structure in the world? Did you know that it's the only man made structure that can be seen from outer space? Well B learned that and a lot more!

Here he is by his poster. He is giving a chopstick lesson here to some buddies.

Here's Cait standing by her poster. She studied France. She taught me a lot as well. The first thing she taught me is that France is the fashion capital of the world...oh really??!!! She would care about that fact! HA! She served up french bread to all her passersby. We were originally going to make chocolate mousse but momma got a tummy bug the day before and we figured no one would want anything prepared at our house that week!

Here's Cait's sweet friend Lilly. She presented Colombia. Isn't she cute?

All the kiddos did a GREAT job and they had a super time. They got their passport stamped at each country they visited around the room and got to sample a food from each as well.

Look how cute they all are! Can't wait until next year when we can pick two new countries to dive into!

Another fun thing we got to do a few weeks back was go to a play. We saw Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. friend of ours from small group was Mike TV in the play and he did a superb job! The kids loved getting together there with lots of our home school buddies from church.

These pictures were taken with my phone and are terrible quality, but you get the idea.

Because of that nasty tummy bug that landed this 38 pregnant woman in the hospital for the day our plan to make homemade egg rolls for B's China display had to fall by the waist side too. We were all bummed about that!! So after the sickness had passed and the house was thoroughly sanitized we went ahead and made those egg rolls. YUMMY!

Studying the WORLD

As an intro to our studies around the world this year we studied the earth as a whole. We learned about hemispheres and longitude/latitude, the continents and oceans and how to read maps, etc.
Here the kids are each decorating a cake to reflect their given hemisphere. One picked the east and one picked the west. They did a great job and had a fun time too!

Can't you tell this is the east?

Doesn't that look exactly like Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia? Come on!

And of course here's the west. Florida is on steroids man!!

Studying Mexico!! Ola!

The kids really enjoyed getting the first stamp in their passport when traveling to Mexico (virtually that is). At the end of our week we had a fiesta to celebrate all we learned!

Here are the kids working on the first steps of the pinata. They wanted to make a Sophie pinata. A little morbid if you ask me, but whatever!

These are our sad, sad homemade tortillas for the fiesta. Yeah, I know you're really jealous, but they actually tasted pretty good for being so gross looking!

Laurie and GiGi were visiting when we had our fiesta so that made it all the more fun!

SOPHIE!! The homemade pinata.

Told ya, morbid! I'm sure Sophie our dog was watching in horror from a safe place!

CANDY!!!!! And yes, of course I bought MY favorite candies! Tootsie rolls and Three Musketeers!!

So that's our year so far. We're having a great time! After we studied North America for several weeks we've just moved into Brazil and South America. We're excited about more stamps in the passport!

First Day of School 2011-2012

2011-08-20T17:08:00.001-05:00

The FIRST day of school!!! We had a great first week of home schooling this week! This is our second year to teach the kids at home and we are still loving it! I think I'm mostly excited about our curriculum this year and what the kids and I will be learning about together! We studying countries and cultures from all over the world! Fun, fun! This will include geography, land forms, animal habitats, ecosystems and the animals that live there. We'll also be studying each continent by learning about their dress, cultures, beliefs and just their way of life. This will mean lots of fun costumes and ethnic cooking for us this year. The very best part of it all though is that we will be studying the different missionaries for past and present to these different countries. I'm excited for our kids to get to learn about God's big world and how beautifully diverse He made it!

Here is the table set for our first day of school breakfast.

Homemade donuts for breakfast...yum!!! Not exactly brain food, but the first day of school is supposed to be fun, right? Not too strenuous YET!!!! HA!!

Cait on the first day of 3rd grade (actually 2nd/3rd grade transition year)

Benjamin on the first day of 4th grade (oops, the eyes are closed!!!)

That night after our first day we had a fun dinner and a special rice crispy cake to celebrate a new year! We're so excited!! Pray for us if we come to mind, because we could always use it! Hope you have a great year too!

My Girl's 8th Birthday Celebration

2011-08-20T12:03:00.000-05:00

The day started out great with the baking of the cake! Cait LOVES to help in the kitchen and loves licking the spoon too! Her request was chocolate cake (of course) and vanilla icing (pink). She also picked out the three meals of the day.
Breakfast: pancakes, mini ones
Lunch: macaroni and cheese (of course! Her all time favorite food that she would eat for every meal if we let her)
Dinner: Chicken penne pasta, green beans and bread

Mmmm good!!!

This day was all about preparation for the big day! We went shopping and I let Cait pick out an outfit, we went to lunch at Chick-fil-a....

And then we went to Sweet and Sassy where she got her ears pierced!!!! Here's the before. She was SO brave!!

AFTER!! You can't really see then but she picked out little pink studs and they look adorable.

Next she got her nails painted....

Her hair fixed....

And a glittery face. So lovely!!

Lastly, we picked up her friend Lilly and brought her home with us for a birthday celebration. Cait's dinner of choice, by candlelight and apple juice in fancy glasses, with cake, presents and a movie to follow.

Birthday dinner!!

The big 8 year old!!

Here's the little cake I made and the napkins and plates Cait picked out.

The cake was sweet and yummy, but it was so hot that by the time got home form the movie, the top layer had slid off and was laying on the counter!!!

Present time....

Sweet buds!

New jump rope that she had to try out

This is the sweet little outfit Cait picked out at J.C. Penny. I thought she did great!

Happy birthday to you!

Here's B and Paul fighting over Cait's new ball.

Dad wins every time!!!!!!

Soccer Spring 2011

2011-06-18T21:17:00.000-05:00

Loving that our boy is ALL boy!!

He loves every sport out there, but he has speed and some fancy footwork, so soccer is super fun for him!

Here are some pics from his first season playing with Keller soccer.

Playing goaly for usually half of each game.

This is a lot of pressure on the player AND the parents watching!!

Easter

2011-06-18T10:54:00.000-05:00

O man, what a great celebration we had this year leading up to Easter! This was the first year that we used an advent calendar for the 12 days leading up to Easter. WHAT a blessing!! I fell like for the first time we discussed, we read, we dove into the good news of what occurred that first Easter. The gospel was the focus. Jesus was the hero! Our hearts rejoiced and celebrated what He has done for us. It is finished and we are so blessed!

Here are some fun pictures of other celebrations we had around Easter. They almost all involve eggs.

We started out with a fun weekend at the lake. We had our annual egg hunt for the kids combined with some swimming, boating and all that good stuff too!

This is Sophie and her sister Bella. Sophie is the tom boy for sure!

Bella is prissy and clean...Sophie, not so clean!

The confetti eggs were hilarious yet again this year! You have to hit them pretty hard to crack them, so the kids were in pain and laughing all at the same. Some of their expressions are just priceless!

Oh good...they still love each other even after they attacked one another so viciously!!!

Easter morning I always make this bunny for breakfast. Even when they're old they'll still get the bunny and love it.... secretly to be sure!

After church we headed to a dear friend's house. Shirley always hosts Easter at her house each year and make a huge egg hunt for the kids. It's very serious because it involves money...the green and silver kind! The kids thought they had died and gone to heaven!

Paul took these sweet pics of Cait on the swing in Shirley's backyard.

Sweet, pretty girl!

I felt so very blessed this Easter to have a deeper meaning of the gospel in my heart and love my Savior that much more because of it! What a joy to celebrate that good news with the ones you love most!

A Reason for Going to Egypt

2011-06-13T14:11:00.001-05:00

I came across this post today while cleaning up my blog. I practically finished the post, but never posted it. God's timing is perfect, because I can see more today than even yesterday what He has been doing all along.

Written August 9, 2009

This Sunday, after many months of preaching through Genesis and studying the Relentless Grace of God through the lives of the Israelites, we are almost to the end. We witnessed a funeral today in our service, the funeral of Jacob in chapter 49 and 50 of Genesis. As I was listening to this passage I realized that Jacob was dying in Egypt, but he wanted to be returned to Canaan, the land of promise, the land God promised to him and his forefathers. And I immediately wondered whether on not Jacob should have gone to Egypt. Did he disobey God and move to a land where he did not belong? I mean, we all know what happened to his children years after he died. They were enslaved. They were placed in bondage and treated cruelly. So I quickly flipped back to chapter 46 and started scanning to find the part where Jacob finds out that his beloved son Joseph is alive. After this he moves his whole family to Egypt. It was here that my eyes rested on this verse, "'Jacob, Jacob.' And he said, 'Here I am.' Then He said, 'I am God, the God of your father. Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for there I will make you into a great nation. I myself will go down with you to Egypt, and I will bring you up again...'"

It was at this point that I began to weep. You see, I've always related my journey over the last 10 years to the story of the Isrealites. Ya know, everything is hunky dory in life...you move to a new place (marry a man), start a life and then things go bad. You are forced into slavery (your husband is being unfaithful but you can't figure that out, you just know it's not how it should be...feels like being in bondage). Then God, with very little warning comes in and delivers you from the bondage and asks you to forge out into the wilderness (the scary world of single mom providing for her two babies). All of this to take you back to where you came from, only better. And why? Why the long road and not the straight path? Why the slavery and the hurt and the pain?

God told Jacob to go to Egypt. And I feel the same way about my first marriage. I felt at peace, completely in obedience with God and heeding the wisdom of all people surrounding me. God told me it was okay to go. But yet He knew what the path held...for the Isrealites and for me. So the question changed in my mind from, "Was it okay to go to Egypt?" to "Why did He want me to go to Egypt? For what purpose?"

I believe He took them (me) to Egypt to deliver them and to bring Himself glory. He was able to show them who He was and how powerful He is. He did the same thing with the blind beggar. Why was he born blind? Was it his parents' sin or his? Neither, was Jesus' reply. It was so that He could heal Him. That's it. It was so that He could show that He was God in the flesh, able to command illness and even death. David says in the the Psalms that the Israelites had to be enslaved so that God's glory could be on display as He parted the sea, delivering them so dramatically and gloriously.

I believe this to be true in my own life. I've struggles over the past few years with the peace that comes with any decision you make. Was it the right one? Well, I know that I am an imperfect woman, stumbling through this life trying to follow the will of God. But more than that, I know that the God I serve is the boss of the wind and waves, illness and death, animals, and all living things. He has led my path as I've sought Him through the years, not promising that the path would be trouble free, just straight and that He would be my companion. There's nothing else in this world TO want, expert for that.

I'm convinced that this life we have to live has NOTHING to do with the ease of it. It also has not much to do with the trials that naturally come along with it. It has EVERYTHING to do with knowing and being near to Jesus, loving Him more with every step and letting it soak in how very much He loves me. The reality of the gospel, meditating on it every single day of my life will help me as I seek to walk with Him, because it will keep the truth in the forefront of thought. Jesus loved me, gave His life to save me, so that I could be near Him and us enjoy one another. It's what I want to be about.

So, was I supposed to go to Egypt? Yes, I was. I was supposed to walk with my Savior there and walk out of Egypt with Him parting the sea in front of me and then walking alongside me through the desert every. single. step of the journey. The sweetness of the journey and the walk with God so near is missed by SO many. Yes, it's hard and uncomfortable and scary, but He is right there with you. Enjoy the sweetness of those moments if you can, cause it's what this whole life is about!

And we're having a....

2011-06-13T11:03:00.000-05:00

GIRL!!!

YAY, we're so excited and feel so blessed! "Is this real?" We keep asking ourselves and each other that question. Is this really happening? Will there really be a baby girl coming into this world to join our family in October? Crazy to think, but it appears to be true! It becomes increasingly real with every kick and wiggle I feel. It becomes more obvious to us and others as my belly grows more and more. It's really happening.

The kids are super excited and have been oowing and awing over every little sock and outfit that comes through the wash or has been given to us (yes, GiGi has already started buying, of course!). My sister saved all of Mia and Cait's clothes that survived their babyhood and now has passed them to us for a little more use. Sweet pulling out those old things and remembering that my big, almost-eight-year-old, used to wear these little shoes and dresses and bows. Seems so long ago now. Grateful that I will get to relive those days (albeit tired days) with another little one, all the while telling Cait and B stories of when I used to hold them or love on them in the exact same way. So grateful today thinking of that time restored to me.

We've decided on a name for our sweetness, but we're not brave enough to say it out loud to others yet. We've been trying it out at home and with each other to see what kind of ring it has. We're set, I think. It's the name we talked about before there were even rings on our fingers, the name we both loved. We tried to think of different ones and outside the box. We did, but it always came back to the one name we both loved. Sweet and simple. We'll share soon...as soon as we're brave enough!

Sorry for the long stint between posts. This blog has become of lower priority this year than ever and I'm okay with that. I do have a bunch of things to post to get caught up...before my memory fails me, but they'll be brief and mostly pictures. So stay tuned!

What I've learned about my children while home schooling them

2011-06-05T09:07:00.000-05:00

Wow! Home schooling has been fun! It's not as hard as I thought it would be and surprisingly, like I pictured it. I am a teacher by nature, yes, so in that respect I love to teach. However, when you're tutoring your own children it looks very, very different than when you're teaching a whole class. It is more organic and conversational. It's snuggling on the couch and reading books aloud together. It's walking them through some assignments and letting them go on others. It's knowing if they "got it" instantly. It's finding out that something is too hard or too easy for them and we're not just going to go through the motions here, we're gonna change things up!

I've learned much about my kids being their teacher. I've learned that Benjamin has a memory for facts like a steel trap. He can read anything or hear anything you read to him and regurgitate it to you almost word for word. I've learned the he is a phenomenal and natural speller (unlike his mother who just needed spell check's help to spell phenomenal). I've learned that B will agree to anything as long as you will release him from formal school work so he can GO READ!!!! He's a reading maniac! I've learned he is genuinely excited to learn new things about history and the world that God created. He finds interesting tidbits oh so fun, like his mommy. I've learned he has no flair for drama. When memorizing poems this year he just can't get into the performance part of it, expressiveness and facial expression and all. I now know that Benjamin has terrible print but beautiful cursive handwriting. He has these super human mental math skills. Writing is his worst subject so far. He does not enjoy writing. He'd rather draw it for you than write about it. This is odd to me, as he comes from people who love to write. I'm hoping that through time and lots of practice that this will be an area he'll grow in.

Cait on the other hand, is a very different student than her brother. How do I capture Cait's essence here? Hmmm....She's a little distracted. This is putting it mildly. She is so dreamy and chatty and imaginative, that she has a hard time putting pencil to paper. She doesn't like to read directions but rather thinks she can just wing it. But this girl...oh, so glad we put her into drama! She is a natural! You should see her recite her poems. Expression, motions, voice emphasis...a natural. She is artsy and creative and talented! She can write with more detail and creativity than you would imagine! She will draw a beautiful picture to go with every story. She has better handwriting than me! Her math facts and concepts on the other hand...it's like a deer in the headlights. She STRUGGLES! My poor girl has no memory when it comes to stuff of that nature. It's actually more of a processing/distracted issue than memory. She has to work HARD to pull up the answer. You know it's in there, but....whew! It can be laborious! We have tears sometimes when we do math because of her frustration. Don't feel bad though, she cries pretty darn easily. I now know that Cait is the hardest working child I have, wanting perfection in all she does. Her brother just wants to get it done! Cait loves all things artsy! She is interested in classical music, ballet, art, and plays (constantly telling us about the next play she is putting together...always a dream and never a reality). She truly has been a delight to teach. Her creativity inspires me. She's always asking for me to teach her to do handy crafts like knitting or sewing clothes for her dolls. Sorry baby girl, I'm not the one to help! SO wish I were though! We're working on some outlets for these desires. Anyone want to teach Cait and me how to knit? Kind of kidding, but kind of not.

Home schooling is FUN!! I love that I'm getting to know my kids and teach them what is important to our family...and share the gospel hopefully every single day! What a great job I have! IT hasn't been a smooth year. Lots of bumps in the road, mainly involving my health. I'm so hoping that this will change soon! I'm ready to be back to myself again and give it 100%. I can't believe summer is just 7 weeks away for us!! We've almost completed our first year. WOW! Yeah, I think I could keep doing this for many years, as long as someone else teaches those maths and sciences in high school! Yikes, that scares me!

Here are some random pictures of some fun things we've done this year. I've been bad about documenting, but here's a sampling.

Homemade bread after learning about yeast and chemical changes and also how Jesus is the Bread of life. All of our subjects kind of overlap in topic like this, which is cool!

We also went to Mrs. Baird's factory which was a blast and we watched how they braided their bread. We copied them when making our bread.

Homemade butter...oh my delicious! We've been learning this year about the pioneers and settling of the United States. It's fun to see how they lived their lives. We should go back to making our own butter!

Fresh butter on warm bread! YUM!

Making homemade playdough

Tons of science experiments and art lessons and more happened in this kitchen this year...I just wasn't motivated to photograph it. Not sure why. IT looks kind of sad now when trying to recap our year. Oh well, the memories and lessons live on, even without the picture to document it, I guess!

Spring Break Camping

2011-05-15T14:43:00.000-05:00

Oh, we had some serious fun times camping with our buddies, the Hamms! The last time we tried to camp with them we ended up having a slumber party at their house because of a torrential down pour!

This time we actually camped, in tents and all!

The boys had a blast climbing trees and exploring down in the creek behind our camp site.

We hiked and fished and froze our tushies off but it was fun!

We even made smores over the camp stove, as camp fires were banned that weekend.

Dressing up the poor dog

We were supposed to stay two nights, but this family pictured above ended up leaving after just one night. It was SO cold and we barely survived night one!

On a side note, I was pregnant and had to get up in the middle of the night 3 times to go to the bathroom. In the cold. By myself. Drove to the restrooms. Oh yes I did!

Fun times! Hope this becomes an annual retreat!!

A BIG change...and I mean BIG!!!

2011-03-31T14:34:00.000-05:00

I couldn't WAIT to spill the beans!!

Somewhere near October 17th we are expecting baby Lewis to join our family!!!

HOORAY!!

We are so excited and already buzzing about names, and baby furniture and time off of work for Paul...and how in the world I will teach Benjamin and Cait in the middle of having a newborn! I guess that's the beauty of home school, you start school early so you can have a nice long fall break!

Sweet news to go along with...my sister is pregnant also! She is due 3 weeks before me! YAY! We've never been pregnant together so this has been fun already! My parents are just beside themselves with the blessings coming their way!!!

As many of you know, this last fall, Paul and I were expecting a baby for June 2, 2011. Sadly, that pregnancy seemed to be a blighted ovum, which is where conception occurs, but the egg or possibly sperm is a blank. No baby ever forms. It was not fun feeling so very sick and pregnant and...you know ALL the joys of the first trimester, but there was no baby. My body never seemed to figure it out. So in November, right before Thanksgiving I had a D and C procedure. I went all the way to 12 weeks like that. Stink!

But through that trial, God had a plan (doesn't He ALWAYS?????). See, I came from Dallas, where I had an AMAZING group of girl friends. I mean, seriously...phenomenal friends who love Jesus so passionately! It was SO hard to leave them (not that we're not still dear friends, but distance is no fun!) However, God brought Paul and me and the kids to City View, our new and totally awesome church in Fort Worth. We love that body of believers and are SO VERY, very thankful for them! The strange thing is, in the fall when I was going through this miscarriage, I had made a handful of new friends at City View. Precious women who ALSO love Jesus passionately! See I'm pretty smart in that I like to pick friends that I want to be like! You become who you hang around with, right? Anyway, these sweet new friends walked so closely with me through this trial of our miscarriage. And by the total sweetness of God ...every single one of those girls could relate to my loss. Everyone of them had either lost a baby by miscarriage, twins by miscarriage, had infertility issues for years, had a blighted ovum just like me, or even worse, lost a child. Each and everyone of them could pray for me from a place of understanding that someone who hadn't been there could not do. And all my sweet, precious, lifelong friends from Dallas...although they prayed and cared for me...not one of them had ever struggled to get pregnant or ever lost a baby. CRAZY!

God had lovingly placed me where I was supposed to be to go through that trial. I love the way He does that! Never could a human have orchestrated that!

So...here's a picture of our little dumpling! Can't wait to meet him or her!! And as always...ALL glory to GOD!

P.S. We had our 12 week check up today and heard that sweet little heartbeat (after 5 solid minutes of her trying to find it but couldn't...a little stressful, but doubly joyful when we did hear it!). Benjamin and Cait got to hear it too. Fun day. Thank you, Lord!

Snow Week!

2011-02-19T10:02:00.001-06:00

As I'm sure all of you know by now, we had some unusual weather the last couple of weeks around here! Tons of snow and some low, low temps for the DFW metroplex! We loved it though...being iced in, forced to stay in our pajamas, playing in the snow! Good times! Most all, I loved having Paul home. Although he was working, we got to have a lot more of him than on a normal week!

It actually got so cold here that half of our house's pipes froze for 4 days straight!! That would be the kitchen side, of course! We had to keep bringing big buckets full of hot water from the bathrooms to fill up the sink to wash dishes. I'd say, "John boy, please bring me some water from the well!" Yeah, that got old after about five minutes. I LOVE modern conveniences!! Don't you?

Here are some pics, for fun!

Wanted to eat some snow. Dad gave good advice. With Sophia out there, don't eat the yellow snow!

Yum!

Trying to catch those snowflakes

Sophia plowing through. She looked like a big rodent out there. She hated the snow at first and then learned to love it so much we hated to let he out! She always came in covered in snow!!!

Our BLACK BELT boy!!!

2011-01-15T21:48:00.000-06:00

The big day was December 29. We'd been waiting for what seemed like forever! Benjamin tested in front of his instructors, peers, friends and family to earn hi black belt in Taekwondo. He did SO great! There was no question that he was ready!!

Here is B doing his form

Ending pose

Sparring time! Testing consists of three parts: form, sparring and board breaks. He did awesome on all three! For the first time B actually had to spar 2 on 1. So proud even though both kids were so much bigger than him! It's not kick and punch to hurt, it's kick and punch (almost taps if done with control) to earn points.

Bowing in for sparring. Kicks to the head are big points. All about defense and controlled power. They begin with a bow, hand shake, and "Do well sir."

Nothing in the world like watching your son kick another kid (especially a girl) in the head and watching them get kicked back! Just hard! He got knocked down once...well you can see how big the other kid is compared to him!!

First try palm board break! Got it!! Notice his mouth is open. They are encouraged to yell loudly when they kick or punch or hit. This is to release that power or strength inside of them. It's pretty cool. Control and power. Great qualities in a man! Can you tell I love Taekwondo??

First try kick! Success!! He also did an elbow board break that I missed a picture of. These are plastic "boards" that get more difficult the older the kid is. These are often more difficult to break than an actual wooden board.

He is EXHAUSTED!!! But happy!

The presentation of belts...saving the best for last...the BLACK belt!

And the applause!!! Well done, Benjamin!!

Sweet friends, the Atwoods, came to cheer Benjamin on and show him they love him! We love you guys!!

Proud mommy!!

B putting his moves on Dad!!

So proud!!

B was proud to have his daddy there too!

Mr. Sutherland, Benjamin's main instructor through this process. He's a 4th degree black belt. For each degree it takes that many years. It takes longer and longer to earn your promotions.

Following tradition of wearing your black belt to sleep in the night you earned it.

Benjamin, we're so proud of you! You did all the work to earn this accomplishment and that is a BIG deal! We pray that meeting this goal will have taught you perseverance, self-control, respect and even bravery. You're turning into a young man more and more everyday and we love what we see God doing in you! Congratulations, baby!

Christmas Traditions

2010-12-20T17:36:00.000-06:00

Our yearly family Christmas tradition might be a lot like yours. They are a compilation of my family traditions growing up, Paul's and then some new ones that we decided on. Regardless, I think Christmas traditions, like all family traditions are the pillars of your family. They will be what our kids look back and remember fondly when they leave the nest. They will be what they want to relive and experience again after returning home for the holidays as a young adult. They may even emulate them with their own families one day. The memories...not the gifts will be what grows sweeter and more precious through time. Albeit simple, we start our Christmas traditions with a night right after THanksgiving sometime where we decorate our family tree together. Before we jump in to the actual tree trimming, we eat our once-a-year special dish of fondue. We USED to do cheese fondue, but the kids weren't digging it. So, we switched to deep dish pizza followed by chocolate fondue for dessert.

Need I say more?

Strawberries, pineapple...

Marshmallows...

Graham crackers and bananas...

chocolate on the face...

MORE chocolate, and more chocolate

Delicious AND nutritious!!!

The kids also get a new ornament from us every year. We try to make it something that reflects their likes or activities. This year we got them each an ornament from the Nutcracker. We have been studying Tchaikovsky this year, specifically the Nutcracker right before Christmas. They loved them!!

Sugar Plum Fairy

Nutcracker Prince

A new ornament Paul and I bought for us this year.

Good job guys! Actually, this is not our finished tree...not sure I even got a picture! How sad is that? We'll do it all over again next year. I'll get one then, I guess! HA!

Thankful

2010-12-10T17:16:00.000-06:00

I KNOW!!! It's January and I'm posting about Thanksgiving!! How could I just let it go by without documenting though, huh? Bear with me!!

So....very much to be thankful for this year!! WOW! See all these sweet friends? Well, they're all new friends since April. THAT'S something to really be thankful for! As home schoolers we have to plan our own parties and get togethers and group science experiments, etc! So, we got together for a Fall/Thankful Party and what fun it was!! We started things out with a pumpkin experiment. See the pumpkin guts and neat chart? That's science y'all!!!

In the background you can see our pilgrim hats that were kind of a runny flop. Kids didn't care though.at.all!!!

We had a cute craft planned...making little Pottery Barn knock-off boats for Thanksgiving table. SO didn't happen! Baseball with buddies is WAY more fun that felt and glue!

Lastly we convinced them to come inside for a little Peanuts Thanksgiving movie. Sweet!

The real Thanksgiving Day was a few days later and we had family at our house this year which was super fun! This was our kid-friendly appetizer!! Gobble, gobble!

The kid table had butcher paper for drawing and they had a menu check-off list to keep track of what they had left to eat. We also had Thanksgiving trivia. Fun times!

So thankful for so many things! God is good. None of the family and or things we have would mean a thing though if it weren't in light of the gospel that gives us life and peace. Thank you for Jesus! Thank you for the cross! Thank you for victory over sin and for loving and saving a wretch like me!

Poppa Camp

2010-11-05T08:27:00.001-05:00

Boys want to be men. It's that simple. They aspire to be men and we aspire for them to be (one day, but not tooo soon) as well. My Benjamin is so blessed to have great men in his life, men of many different talents and skill sets.

Paul is an amazing fixer, problem solver. He will try to fix anything himself first before resorting to hiring it out. He also is a whiz on the computer, seriously a natural problem solver. LOVE that about him. My dad on the other hand has a different skill set. He's a cowboy, a musician, a radio technician, works with his hands. He's got a wide array of useful and very manly skills. We got the idea of how fun it would be to teach our boys these skills and not let them just rest on the men. Paul tries to teach B here and there and in organic, everyday settings. But Poppa lives hours away and the organic way just isn't happening. So, we set aside a weekend. Maybe an annual weekend (we hope???), to let Poppa teach the boys some important manly things. Funny, because Paul and Ryan wanted to be there to learn too!!!

I was very impressed when I saw the wide array of things on the agenda for the boys!!

bow shooting, as in arrows and a target

How to drive a manly riding lawnmower (even the men couldn't wait for this one. Dad's own like a Royals Royce in lawn mowers, HA!!)

funny to me how almost everything the boys did required ear plugs!!

horse saddling, shoeing, and of course, riding

cutting down a tree basics (with a chain saw!!! Ack!) and then hauling it all off in a wheel barrel

LOVE this picture!!

ready for this one? Guns. Shooting. Safety. Seriously manly stuff here (and a mother's nightmare!)

okay, is everything about this picture not wrong????? That sweet little innocence 5 year old face holding a RIFLE???? WRONG I tell you!!!!

Scavenging, as all boys do naturally, I think

How to eat Mexican food like a man

They watched a old "boy" movie called "Savage Sam"

While movie watching they enjoyed root beer floats.

Poppa had some cool boy books to read to the boys at bedtime, but I think only Benjamin made it to that point.

Fun, fun, seriously manly, fun times for these boys. I'm so proud of my B who wants to be a wise, strong, adventuresome, and brave man one day! He has so many aspirations, that we can't keep up with them. He wants to solve all the world's problems when he become an adult. Some on the list include: inventing useful things like flying cars, magic and amazing kitchen gadgets, finding a cure for cancer. He wants to study sharks and be a marine biologist. The list goes on and on and is literally added to every single day. It makes me smile to hear him dream with no adult-like-reality in the mix. We let him dream.

I truly can't wait to see what God will do his life. I know He has a great purpose for Benjamin, as it was so amazing how he made it here in the first place, defeating all odds.

Thanks to the MEN in his life who invest in B and pray for him and want him to be a mighty warrior in the army of God!! B can't wait until next year's camp, Poppa!!! He wanted me to tell you to make sure guns were included though...his favorite part!

Coupons! Oh how I love thee!!!

2010-10-12T20:22:00.000-05:00

Paul and I have been "couponing" now for about the last 4 months. What started out as a little stressful and totally overwhelming has turned into a fun game we look forward to on the weekends. Seriously. We have stocked up on all things nonperishable, as well as paper goods and toiletry items.

It's gotten to the point where we have well over a year's supply of toiletry items, most of which we either paid 25 cents for, got for free, or even made money on it. For example, on Monday I went to CVS and they PAID me $2 to get 2 tubes of Colgate toothpaste. I got a bag of candy corn for free. I got mascara for $1 a week before, the good kind. We get free razors, body wash, deodorant, toothpaste, toothbrushes, floss, etc, etc. Last week I could have gotten 6 free bottles of Loreal nail polish, but couldn't seem to get to the store. It was a crazy, out of town week. I like free stuff!

Anyway, for those of you who might be interested in saving a little money, I put together a little coupon help sheet for a friend and thought I'd share with all my friends. I LOVE saving money!!!! It is addicting!! Ihope someone finds this helpful!

Here are a few useful things that helped us when starting to coupon:

The Biggies

1) The Grocery Game

http://www.thegrocerygame.com/

This sight is where Terri does all the matching work for you! She lists the sales with Sunday paper coupons, digital coupons and printable coupons. She sometimes even gives links for other coupons. She gives you a final price of what each item would cost after all possible discounts (including possible double and triple coupons). VERY helpful!!!

2) Shop at Kroger

They allow you to combine digital coupons loaded onto your Kroger card with manufacturers coupons. They also triple any manufacturer’s coupon up to $0.30 and double anything up to $0.50. This allows for TONS more money saved! Some people say the only place you can save money at is Walmart, but Paul and I totally disagree! Walmart does have low prices on some things, but not all. When you are only buying what is on rock bottom prices, plus your dairy and produce, you are saving a ton of money.

3) The Grocery Shrink

http://groceryshrink.com/

Angela at the Grocery Shrink is as extreme as they come…like reusable toilet paper!! Oh…yes…they …do!! I’m no where near that extreme, but she does have TONS of great ideas! She encourages a mostly paperless kitchen, making your own cleaning products and stocking your pantry to the point where you are planning your meals around what you’ve bought on sale instead of buying what you need based on your menu. She has an e-book that gives way more detail, but if you subscribe to her newsletter she gives you all the cleaning product recipes for free! She swears you can shop spending only $50/person in your family/month. For our family of 4 that equates to $200. I really don’t see how that’s possible, but hey, if I could even lower my bill by $150-200 a month I’d be thrilled!! Think of what that would equate to at the end of the year!! She says take your first three months and don’t cut your budget, but use the extra to stock up on everything you can. In three months we stocked up our pantry, our freezer, looking for meat on sale and had a year’s worth of toiletry items that we got mostly for free. Seriously! We’re talking top of the line razors, deodorant, body wash, feminine hygiene items (not free but VERY cheap), shaving cream, make-up, etc.

Some other great sights for reference:

http://thekrazycouponlady.com/

This is a very useful sight where she lists the deals for each store (not Kroger, but most others). This is a great sight to go to if you don’t want to buy every list for every store from The Grocery Game. I usually look over Walgreens and Target here since I don’t buy their list on The Grocery Game.

Here are some similar sights as well…

http://www.becentsable.net/

http://www.passionforsavings.com/

So, this is how we set it all up. We started by reading the info on The Grocery Game, The Grocery Shrink and a 10-step post tutorial from The Krazy Coupon Lady you can find here: http://thekrazycouponlady.com/beginners/ This information was so valuable!

So, after we made ourselves familiar with the process we decided to give it a test run. What a flop the first week was!! I could have quit after the store being out of what was on sale and me being not as organized as I had originally thought I was. Paul made me stick with it though, and with his immense help we figured this process out. It really is like a game and we actually look forward to it every weekend! Call us dorks if you will!

So here’s what our process looks like:

1) All week take e-mails that come into my in-box for coupons and either print them or load them to my Kroger card. I usually do this once during the week and it takes all of 10 minutes. Most of the time those coupons are doubles with your printed coupons, so you can really get great savings! Kroger will take a digital and a printed coupon together for the same item. They wills till double or triple the coupon. We get so many free things this way!

Couponmom.com will send you weekly e-mails with a link to cellfire (digital going onto your Kroger card), coupons.com (printable) and a few other printable sites. There’s also a site called shortcuts.com that send weekly e-mails with printable and digital coupons. Remember that the digital can be combined with the printed for double savings!!

2) On Thursday I make my menu based upon what I have in my freezer and pantry. It’s fun being creative. Add anything I need to the grocery list. That list should be minimal after your three month stock up phase.

3) On Saturday night The Grocery Game lady comes out with her lists. Go down the list and check the items that you might want to buy or stock up on for the future. The goal is to buy things before you need them and buy multiples so that you don’t have to buy them in a pinch at full price.

4) After we narrow our list of what we want, then we pull out the coupon binder!! This is a big-ole binder with page protector sleeves and dividers for each week. We get 4 papers each week (Krazy Coupon Lady will tell you why!) and we sort them and slide them into these page protectors for easy viewing. NO CUTTING yet! The reason for this is that The Grocery Game lady tells you what coupon to use by the date. You just flip through the binder to that date and find your coupon easily. I also keep a small accordion coupon filer for coupons I printed off the web or ones I had floating without a home.

5) We match the coupon she says we need with the coupon we have. If it’s not a Sunday coupon that she’s talking about then it might be one they printed for you at the register, one that you loaded to your Kroger card digitally or one she will send you to another sight to print. She has codes for these and we learned them after one week. Easy. It helps if you’ve already printed the coupons off the web you’re interested in earlier in the week. Sometimes they go away.

It helps to have two accounts on these sights. Do one for your hubby and one for you both linked to the same Kroger card. This will allow you to load multiple coupons.

6) As we’re going through finding the coupons for items we’re buying for the week or for stocking up on for later, we stick that coupon in either the Kroger or CVS envelope. CVS is our next favorite store. We come away with TONS of free items every week, sometimes they even PAY us for what we get. We make money!! It is a rush, people!!

7) So before we leave home we have these things all organized:

The sales add for the paper for each store we’re headed to

The envelopes of coupons for each store.
The grocery list (noted with which items we’re using coupons and how many we have to buy)
A clipboard and pencil

In my wallet I make sure I have my CVS card and Kroger card. I also keep my Extra Care Bucks from CVS in my wallet so I never forget to use them. They have also been printing a coupon every week at CVS for $5 off a $20 purchase. This purchase is pre-coupon of course! Now they also have a coupon machine in the store that will print you random coupons. Today I got a bag of candy corn for free. This is where you really start to make money! Love it!

I hope this helps a little. Let me know if I can answer any questions for you or help you get going. I'd love to help you like friends helped me! Happy saving!!!

Camping Plan A and Plan B

2010-09-28T22:00:00.000-05:00

This past weekend we had BIG plans! We planned to go to Dinosaur Valley to go camping. Great fun! However, after much planning back and forth and agonizing over dates, etc, by the time we called to reserve they only had one campsite left instead of the two that we needed!!! BOO!

We decided instead to go to Lake Mineral Wells with our friends the Hamms.

Plan A for our trip went as planned so far...
Left Thursday morning and had lunch with Tyler and Kristi at school. Visited antique stores along the way in Weatherford. Believe it or not, our kids love this! Finally, make our way to the park to set up camp. When we arrived we had double good news. One, the burn ban had been lifted so we could have a camp fire!!! Woo Hoo! (Benjamin said God had answered his prayers in this! LOVE when things like that happen that increase their growing faith!) 2. THis dream campsite that we wanted was available. We got it!

We had fun climbing rocks, cooking under the stars, playing with fire...boys! It was a ton of fun. Then night time came. This is where plan A began to blur into no plan at all.
It was hot. It was hotter than you'd hope for an end of September camping trip. We had a hard time getting to sleep. We were sleeping on the ground and were uncomfortable. After about 2 hours of sleep attempt things started to unravel slowly as the hours passed.

12:00 - Startled by a loud sound. Both sit up in bed. What's that? Sounds like our cooler! Raccoons!!!

1:00 - Cait wakes up and says she's scared. Comfort her, back to bed.

2:00 - Wake up with water falling on my face. It's RAINING!! The rain tarp! How does that thing work again???? Half asleep-grumpy-kid whining-married couple arguing-attempt to throw that tarp on the right way was futile. We tried and tried until the rain stopped. We opted to just go back to bed. Probably not the best choice. Note the time though....

3:00 - I wake up. NO!!!! I can't have the sudden urge to go potty!!! NO!!! Get in car drive 1/4 mile to bathroom in pajamas. Sit in car in front of bathrooms visualizing the News broadcast the next night of what happened to a young mom in a state park bathroom in the middle of the night! Get some courage and run int he bathroom. Drive back to campsite trying not to wake family.

4:00 - Again....find water on face. This time it is because kids wake me up yelling that it's RAINING!! This time harder. Rain tarp attempt #2. This time mildly successful and less sinful of previously mentioned married couple. Trying to protect the identities here!

5:00 - NO!!! Not again!! Yes, sudden urge to go to the bathroom again!!! I never wake int eh night to go potty!!!! ONLY when camping. Drive to bathroom again in pajamas. Drive back to campsite and crash.

7:00 - wake up and know that the only redeeming thing at this moment is that there is coffee made over campfire waiting for me int eh near future. THis gives me confidence to start the day.

8:00 - make breakfast in the rain.

8:30 - eat breakfast in the rain. Listen to children whine. Attempt to help hubby in his speech to said children about the joys of camping even in the rain.

9:00 - official ushering in of plan B!!

We spent the rest of the day there at the camp and then I promise you we packed up just. in. time! We decided to camp our second night at the Hamm's house instead of them joining us in the rain and muck and heat and humidity. I think we made the right choice. As we drove out the park the bottom of the clouds gave way and...whoosh...pouring rain for the next 24 hours. FUN...fun that we missed it that is!

We had a great time "camping" at the Hamm's new place! The kiddos slept in sleeping bags in the game room, swam, jumped on the trampoline and rode scooters in the rain...the adults talked, and talked...drank wine, drank coffee, talked, played Uno Attack...fun. We even made smores on the grill! Good time with good friends!

SMORES!!!!

Putting smores on the grill

They turned out pretty good. Some got a little burnt, like B's here. It looks like chocolate but it's not! Thus the pouty face!!! HA!!

We LOVED our camping trip!!! Plan A and Plan B!!!! Aren't good friends SUCH a gift from God??!!!!!

Our Silhouette

2010-09-28T21:55:00.000-05:00

We bought a new toy a while back and we are having so much fun with it! It's called a Silhouette, and is a lot like a Cricut if you've heard of that. This is different in that it hooks right up to your computer and you use images there instead of buying expensive cartridges. This is WAY cheaper!!

Anyway, look what we cut out of vinyl. You know, that stuff you buy and rub on your walls? Not permanent, just clinging to your wall!

This verse was on our wedding invitations. I love it! God is so faithful!

The silhouette also cuts paper, iron transfers, etc. The possibilities are endless!

This was not a paid endorsement

:-)

Summer Luau

2010-08-28T12:15:00.001-05:00

Summer is wrapping up and I've been thinking a lot about the fun things we did this summer. One of my favorites ever summer is our annual luau. this is year #3 to host our little luau while my sister and kids are visiting. Next year we'll make sure Ryan can come too...k, RyRy?

YUMMY kabobs

Even yummier chicken wraps!!!! We also had cole slaw, hawaiian meatballs, rice and a yummy hawaiian cake.

After we ate it was game time!

Hula Hoop contest

Mendy think she's #1! She might have been had Lilly Jean not needed a hug in the middle of the contest!!!

Aunt D was the winner!!!

Coconut races

The kids invented their own game of coconut bowling. Pretty clever, I thought!

Delish pina coladas

Beautiful Hawaiian girl

This is a joke between us. B can't eat a strawberry without getting a little red mark on the sides of his mouth. Here he is sporting that strawberry mark.

Lilly Jean surfing on our decorative surf board. Can you see it under her feet?

Then we cracked open a coconut to have a taste. It was.....sooooo yucky!!!! Glad I let Paul taste it first! hee hee

LIMBO!!!!!

LOVE this picture!

Kristi freaked me out with her bendiness. She was our champ!

Although, it does run in the family

Can't WAIT until next year!!!

Science experiment #1

2010-08-20T13:43:00.000-05:00

Question: Will an egg behave the same or differently in salt water and fresh water?

Theories:

Benjamin- It will float in salt water and sink in fresh water
Cait - same as Benjamin

The results are in!!

The egg will float in salt water, but not in fresh water

Science is cool...

Furniture Before and Afters

2010-08-20T12:11:00.000-05:00

Yeah, we've been busy since we became home owners again. Paul and I have had a blast finding, prepping, painting, sometime repainting and setting up furniture in our house. We have become Craig's List experts over the last year.

I just wanted to document here some of our before and afters. When I think of all that needs to be done in our house I can get overwhelmed, but when I look at what we have done I feel a little sense of accomplishment.

Cait's bedroom furniture

Before

After

(little sneaky toy under there!!)

Love the detail on this 100 year old set!

Happy girl...she loves her new room even though it is far from finished! Paul and I are in the middle of building bookshelves for her room as we speak. We bought baskets to go on the shelves to store all her STUFF!

Before

After

Tis was our $2 garage sale chair from a few weeks ago. I just knew it would be precious repainted...and I think I was right!

Before

After

This is the pattern we've chosen for the guest room. I heart damask!

This was another Craig's List find for our homeschool table.

Before

After

Last but not least...

These were the chairs we pulled out of our neighbors trash. Her cats had destroyed them with the hair deposits and scratching! Look at them now though!!

Before

After

We've caught the bug BIG time and now can't look at a piece of old furniture and wonder what it COULD look like!!

Cousins!!!

2010-08-17T14:22:00.000-05:00

This summer we've been so blessed to get some serious time with cousins. Cousins are like instant friends, ya know? Ya HAVE to love one another and you're guaranteed to see each other all your years growing up! Might as well make it fun, huh? Good thing we LOVE our cousins so stinking much around here!!

Here's some pictures for posterity

First...Eli and Mia came to visit for 5 days!!! Woo HOO!! How lucky are WE???

We tried to do some fun things, but took zero pictures. What's up with that? It wasn't until our last morning when we surprised the kids with a p.j. run to the donut shop that we remembered to take a few pictures.

THEN.....Tyler came to stay with us for 5 days! YAY! We had a blast!

A day at the creek trying to catch crawdads

Swimming pool

Library presentation from NASA...learning about gravity

Have you taken your kids to Cabella's? Such fun for cheap!!!

Shooting range where when they hit the target it gives a cool response

There's also a cool fish tank area where they can see massive fish, turtles and stuff. We also LOVE feeding the fish out in the middle pond area. i don't think anyone feeds them because they go crazy when a fish pellet is dropped in! You can buy a handful of these for 50 cents. Don't forget to check out the stuffed wildlife on both sides of the store. One side is exoctic and the other is native Texan. There are HUGE deer mounted there...record holders for US and Texas. Very interesting. Last but not least...don't forget to get some amazing fudge before you leave!!

(I am thinking Cabella's should pay me for volunteerily posting that last paragraph!!)

Lastly, we went to the OMNI to see the dinosaur movie. However, when we got there that movie we sold out. We saw Adrenaline Rush instead. It was interesting, but man...we all got motion sickness from it!!! Good times!

A Man's Work

2010-08-17T11:16:00.000-05:00

While the girls were getting ready for Cait's birthday party the boys participated in some manly work. Manly work usually includes tools of some sort and there is a risk of injury for sure. This is what makes it manly, you see!

Home Depot has a workshop (free) once a month on Saturdays. Great father and son time. Good when you throw in some Grandpa too!

Cait is SEVEN!!!

2010-08-09T09:10:00.000-05:00

Those of us who are parents all have the same perplexing event happen to us. Our children grow up a little bit every year and it is both joyous and heartbreaking all at the same time. We're pleased to be there to see their growth, as they learn new things or meet classic milestones. But at the same time it pains us to see them change, to see their wings develop that much more, to see them grow one step closer to an adult and one step further away from that baby you loved at first sight years ago. Bitter and sweet. Joyous and full of aches.

Our baby girl turned seven. It seems so sad and sweet all at the same time. She is a delight. She is a joy. She lights up our lives and a room just by coming into it. She is sweet, loving and affectionate to her very core. She is so quick to forgive, especially her momma. She's the only one in the world to call me "momma," as her brother calls me mommy. Not sure how that even happened. She is an expert skirt twirler, jewelry accessorizer, eyelash batter, egg cracker, mess maker and smile inducer. She's our baby girl and we adore her and thank God for her!

We had a little birthday celebration for her this year. Her birthday was Friday, so we started it off by singing to her in her bed with her breakfast of choice...donuts! Next we went swimming with friends at church and they helped us celebrate. Our pastor's wife even made cupcakes for her and all the kiddos sang.

Next she put on her new birthday dress and dad took us all out for a birthday lunch at Pizza Inn (her choice).

From there we had a girlie day of a sweet new little haircut and mani's and pedi's at the salon. Fun times bonding with my girl! She ATE it up!!! She always begs for girlie days and for her birthday that's what she got!

Oh how I love having a GIRL!!!

Before

After

Later that night her cousins, aunt D and uncle RyRy, GiGi and Poppa all came in for a big celebration. GiGi had a birthday the day before Cait and D had a birthday two days later. So...we had one big celebration for them all. We went to Cheesecake Factory and all ate until we were sick. Then, we ate cookie cake for dessert (always D's favorite)...of course after the sickness wore off. That's the way our family rolls!

Birthday girls

Birthday dessert after they sang to her

They misspelled her name, but that's okay!

After cookie cake we opened a few presents. This girl is queen of the facial expressions!!!

Love those little hands...

She's seven...sigh...

Finally!!! A GIRL wii game!!!!

A coffee mug I made for mom

The next day we had a little party with family and a few friends. Kitties were the theme and we had such a good time!

Cutest Kitty Cat Cousins you ever did see!!!

c

Her birthday party dress...so pretty

Her dad loves her so much

Her momma loves her much too!!

Games!!!

Mouse, mouse, cat (instead of duck, duck, goose)
This was FUN and so rowdy with BIG kids!!!

Next, D and RyRy taught us a game called "Cat and Mouse."
It's a chase game and yes, we played it in 125 degree temperature, but I'm pretty sure the kids didn't even notice.

D showing off her skills!!

Pin the tail on the kitten

Goofy Granpas!!!

Next on the agenda was sweets time! Cake and ice cream!!!!

Blake is such a sweet, sweet friend!!! And fun too!

They took the kitty bowls seriously! They licked up their ice cream!!! We were cracking up!!!

Cait is so blessed to have so many friends and family that love her! She had such a special birthday because of them!

I am believing a false gospel

2010-06-29T11:12:00.000-05:00

Sunday at church I was overwhelmed by the message that was preached to us. The guest speaker, Jim Essian, talked about the gospel. He taught us from Galatians 2:1-10 where Paul is writing to the new church giving them instructions. He talked about the simplicity of the gospel and how all that is needed is for us to believe and then accept what God is giving us...a new identity in Him.

However....and a BIG however at that...we LOVE to add to that simple gospel, as the Christ-following Jews did. They wanted to add circumcision to make their salvation complete. We like to add things too. We like to add to the gospel our standards of things, like dress, and music, alcohol beliefs, what a great christian mom looks like, etc. Essentially, when we add ANYTHING to the gospel whatsoever we are believing in a false gospel. I don't know about you, but I was SO taken aback from the idea. How many days do I feel down for not being something I think I should be? When I focus on anything I do, I am NOT focusing on what Christ did. I am beleiving a false gospel. I cannot save myself by my "good" deeds. Wasn't Christ's sacrifice on the cross abundantly more than enough? Why do I feel the need to even TRY to earn it? Foolishness!!!

He talked about the fact that he was from Jersey, born and raised in church. He came here to Texas loving the Lord and wanting to church plant. One of the first questions he encountered was when he prayed the "sinner's prayer." Huh??? He didn't even know what that was! He searched scripture...couldn't find it. Many of the believers he met were asking him how he even knew he was saved if he hadn't prayed this prayer. Friends...this is adding a formula to the gospel. We are adding to what God tells us to do. This man was in love with Jesus and people were questioning his salvation because he hadn't participated in a ritual created in the Bible belt.

See, false gospels are sneaky, they often have a christian label. Anytime we make a rule (law) for ourselves, we're adding. False gospels lead to slavery, but Jesus said that, "It is for freedom that (I) set you free."

Now Paul and I try to teach the gospel to our children daily. We consider nothing more important. But not only do we need to build the gospel into their lives, we also need to protect it. Protect their hearts and minds from having anything added to the gospel they believe.

Isn't God enough? Isn't His finished work on the cross enough? Could we ever earn it in a million years of toiling for it? No. Just rest in Him and be thankful, not adding anything. Out of this right mindset flow all kinds of good things...freedom to serve Him and others they way God intended us to do, freely and with confidence, boasting only in the cross of Jesus Christ, and not in ourselves or our filthy rags.

Last day of school and tons of seriosuly hard good-byes

2010-06-29T10:17:00.000-05:00

The last day of school held some really special moments. I cried ALL...THE ...WAY to school, but held it together the whole time that I was AT school. Those pesky tears kept trying to come, but I somehow held them at bay.

One of the first things on the agenda was an awards ceremony in 2nd grade, Mrs. Cook's class.

Each child was given an award based on a character quality that they specifically were characterized by. Even their peers helped to vote and come up with these.Benjamin was awarded the character quality of "obedience." What proud parents he has because of that!

B, we are SO proud of you! You are growing into a young man that loves the Lord and wants to obey Him. What more could we ask for than this? We love you buddy!!

Down the hall in my room, all havoc was breaking loose in my absence! No, not really, they were just having a little party to celebrate a BIG FAT success of a year!!!

It was a wild time, I tell you!

Oh these precious faces....if yo only knew...

Oh the love...

precious!

These two faces in particular I think will always stay with me. There's something about both of them that just makes you so certain that God has a hold of their life. They are beyond their years in wisdom and are just "old souls." Love them!

My BOYS!!!

My GIRLS!!!

Can't stand to think that I might not see them again! This class was something so special, there are just no words to describe. Even the moms...some will be forever friends!

Good-bye to TCA was hard, but I am so grateful for the next chapter. It's gonna be so good too! My cup runeth over!

Field Day

2010-06-29T09:58:00.001-05:00

What a great day field day was! You know, I think I'm like most moms when I dread this day because of the heat and not a tree in sight for some reprieve from the heat! However, this year it was cool and overcast. A dream day for field day!

Opening ceremonies are always so fun to watch! All the kids let their balloons go and then watch until they are completely out of sight!!

My assistant, Brandie, and her daughter

On your mark...

Get set, GO!!!

Look at that tongue!!! That means she's concentrating!

A great day!!!

Paul turns the BIG 4-0!!!!!

2010-06-29T09:35:00.000-05:00

My honey turned 40 at the end of May. I wanted so badly to have a big celebration but his birthday fell:

the weekend of Memorial Day
the day after the last day of school
the weekend after our BIG move, but the actual weekend we started living there and when we had to totally clean out the rent house.

It was a busy season for us!!! So is lieu of a big celebration we had a dinner out with his family and a trip to the lake house with mine. They helped to make it a really fun time! Mom had signs lining the road as we drove up saying, "Lordy, Lordy, look who's 40! PAUL DAVID LEWIS!!!!"
It was a fun surprise! They also gave him things in 40's as gifts. The BIG surprise though was when it was time for cake.

We sent him into the bedroom while we all prepared. See, back in the day Paul sported a really stylin' mullet!! Seriously! We've given him such a hard time about this all through the years, but this year we decided to join him!!! Mom picked up clip on mullets at the store and we all sported them, even the kids when he came out of the room. At first he didn't see what the big deal was, then while singing we all turned around and showed him our mullets. He was dying laughing!!!

Then of course, in our family fashion, we had to take the joke as far as we could!!!

Manly men of ours proudly sporting their mullets!!

Princess Leah style!

Punky Brewster style

Now that's a mustache!!!

He couldn't keep a straight face!!!

And my all time favorite!!!!

Love you baby!! Happy, happy birthday year to you! It's going to be a great one!!!!

Catching Up

2010-06-29T09:29:00.000-05:00

It's been fo-ev-ah since I posted and there's so much to post about. I plan to chip away a little bit each day this week and hopefully get caught up! A lot has happened in a month!

First of all, back in May B had to give a big book report on a famous person from history. B is really into all things artistic, so I wasn't surprised that he chose Vincent Van Gogh as his famous person to learn about. It was really fun because as we studied Van Gogh we realized that he favored B with the redish hair and all. He did a great job and of course he looked adorable!!

I want to win this TOY, I mean...tool!

2010-06-28T15:16:00.000-05:00

Go to this site and see cool new tool for everything under the sun!!!

Willy Wonka Day

2010-05-21T14:46:00.000-05:00

After reading Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, the second graders had a fun day of dress up and celebration!

Meet Mike...Mike Teavee. He watches too much TV!

Actually, here are all the Mike's!!!

Meet all the Willy Wonkas and golden tickets...

Other random characters that I don't know how to spell! Love the Oompa Loompa!

Candy shirt!!

That day they watched the movie (old classic one) and ate chocolate. I bought B a HUGE chocolate bar and made a golden ticket in there for him to find. I didn't know they were going to also have a chocolate fountain to dip all kind of things in! YUM! Wish I'd been invited!!

Super Soaker...third and last

2010-05-21T14:17:00.000-05:00

Once again our kids got to soak the principal for their participation in sales of our school's raffle tickets. What a fun day for the kids and what a high price for dear Mr. Morris to pay!!!

The girls from Cait's class...not wet yet!

These pictures make me laugh! Cait is adorable in her new little swimsuit, but she's got this She-Ra pose going on. I can't help but giggle.

The inevitable scream as they run from Mr. M's sprays

Oh, this is fun!!!

What a good sport! We're gonna miss Mr. Morris!!!!

B's turn!

What a boy!!

B and his buddy Jackson

Oh, he's ready!!!

LOVE this picture...he's shooting and being shot at the same time!

Cherishing each and every one of the lasts...

A Spring day at the park...does a soul good

2010-05-04T21:28:00.000-05:00

What a GLORIOUS day at the park after school! We never get to do this, so when I had a day off I picked up the kids from school and we headed straight there! Glorious, gorgeous weather!

While the kids were playing I looked up and noticed that the hills all around the prk were covered in bluebonnets! Oh icing on my day!!!!!! I didn't think bluebonnet pictures would happen this year! Not thrilled about the uniforms and scraggly hair, but I will take what I can get. Hooray!!!

He's bringing me a flower...

After the bluebonnet pictures, some exploring and some skipping rocks we heard it...you know, the sound that all children love...the ICE CREAM truck! How could the day get any more ideal!!

Popsicles for everyone!!

Oh my stars...the joy of my life! Look at these sweet faces! Aren't kids just the best?

Thank you Lord for my glorious afternoon with B and C. I will cherish it.

House Progress - Benjamin's Room

2010-05-04T19:40:00.000-05:00

Okay, so this isn't the finished, finished product, but you can definitely see some progress here.

I saw a picture of a little boy's room on Design Dazzle blog and fell in love with the colors and concept. Navy blue, light blue and a touch of orange. Perfect for a Stars Wars themed room, right?

So you can see the steps...first painted the light blue walls, and dark blue wall, then the light blue stripes on the striped wall.

The measuring wasn't the fun part. No wall is perfect. No wall is the same. This was a little tricky, but my freaky math minded husband did all the math....see? We're a good team!

Obviously these were the rough edges, before cutting in, but you're getting the idea....

So, here's the more cleaned up version. Still not finished, because in these pics we don't have the tiny orange stripe up yet. Oh, you're gonna like the little orange stripe, trust me! Just a touch was all it needed.

Here's an example of how our children entertained themselves while we painted. Pretty creative huh?

This is not a paid ad. This is just a child who knows where mommy goes to get the good stuff!

Here's a more updated picture. This still is without the mattress and bedding...which is super ca-ute! Yay for some paint project finished!!!

Costco bunk beds and Craig's List dresser.

Man, I wish I could say this room was so easy to throw together. It WAS fun, but it was stressful and there were a few arguments along the way between two adults ( I won't mention any names) who are set in their ways and both think they know the best way to skin the cat. Well as it turns out, two heads were better than one and the process was fun...in hind sight. :-)

Can't wait to show you what this room looks like now! I just have to take pictures this weekend. YAY!!

House Progress - the Guest Room

2010-04-28T10:03:00.001-05:00

These posts of our house progress are not because we think looking at paint color is so very exciting, but because so many of yo have asked to see something as a result of the many hours we're spending over in Fort Worth! HA!!!

This is the only before pic I have of our guest room. Nothing fancy, just a room with a pretty ceiling. I love how you can see the house outside the window just being built. Those people have lived int hat hose for two months now! We've been in this metroplex limbo for way too long!!!

Here's the AFTER. It's hard to tell, but it's a pretty grayish blue. Everything else in this room will hopefully be black and white with silver accents. We want our guests to feel like they're super special!!

Notice the house outside the window is totally finished!

This wall is going to be a great place for a desk and cabinet to house craft/scrapbooking stuff. Can't wait!!!

So... as soon as we get a bed in there...you're welcome to come and stay!

House Progress- The Master Bedroom

2010-04-27T21:11:00.000-05:00

Okay, so we have been painting and painting and then when bored, more painting. I keep finding traces of paint color from different rooms in our house all over my body..sometimes days and days later! I DO bathe daily, I promise.

So, first we started in the guest bedroom, moved to Cait's room, then B's room...which took fo-ev-ah!!!! Then lastly to our room. We'd eventually like to put color in every room, but we thought the bedrooms would be a good thing to take care of before move in.

So here are some before and after pics of just the master...not finished, but the color up. What do you think?

BEFORE

BEFORE

BEFORE

AFTER!!!...looking at the entry hall of the master

AFTER...windows looking out to backyard and patio

AFTER...entry to master and doors to bathroom on the left

AFTER...master bath doors

AFTER...from entry hall

I like it a lot! We have a white comforter with red and khaki throw pillows, so the rich color would warm it all up, we thought. Can't wait to get some furniture in here and actually LIVE here!!

Easter

2010-04-27T17:44:00.000-05:00

Another fun, fun weekend at the lake with the fam!

New tradition! Confetti eggs! The kids loved them...and so did the adults! At Easter time you could buy them everywhere! $2.50 for a dozen!

Then of course...there had to be an injury and some drama. Cait was "swimming" in the hot tub when all of the sudden she popped up screaming and saying she knocked her front tooth out. Sure enough...she hit her mouth on the seat and it knocked her tooth right out and loosened the one next to it.

We crack up at this picture. She was still a little hysterical when we were asking her to smile so it came out this pathetic cry/smile. She is a funny girl! Later that night I went to grab B's shoes to take home and I got stung...GOOD! A yellow jacket was inside the shoe and got my knuckle. I hate bugs!

Easter Sunday we went to church with Paul's dad and brother. It was a wonderful sermon and we were all blessed. We followed the service with a delicious lunch and fun times with the fam. That night we tagged along with Nathan, Kristi and Tyler to Nathan's HUGE family egg hunt. I mean HUGE!!! This is the only good pic I got that night because our camera battery died. Boo!!

What a fun, fun weekend!

Skatin' and Cowboys

2010-04-17T14:31:00.000-05:00

A few weeks ago we visited my parents down in Tomball. We came down for Eli's birthday...which was a blast!!! On Sunday we got to go to church with my parents at the new Cowboy Church of Magnolia. My dad is an elder there and they are a mission of FBC Magnolia. Great stuff going on there!

This will be a mostly picture post, so enjoy!...I talk too much anyway!

Happy 5th Birthday Eli...as you devour a Little Debbie treat instead of the beautiful cupcakes that your mommy slaved over all day!!

A most mutual affection, I assure you!

Totally hip GiGi

Dad is the one that greets you as you drive in the church driveway.

Sweet times these are...

"The" Talk with your kids...have you had it?

2010-04-11T22:00:00.000-05:00

This week we were so pleased to have been able to go hear a wonderful speaker on a very delicate topic. Mary Flo Ridley is a "Mom Down the Street," as she calls herself, who offers wisdom on how to talk to our children about God's design for sex before the world gets a hold of them and educates them!

The lecture was SO very good and if you ever get the opportunity to hear her speak, you should jump on it! It was SO good that I took two solid pages of notes, we bought the book, the CD and the DVD! This is serious business! But knowing that many of you may not be able to hear the lecture any time soon, I thought I'd share my notes with you.

"Sooner Than You Think"
Simple Answers to Challenging Questions

Your Message
What do we want our kids to know about sex (make the big list) and then narrow it down to one sentence. This sentence is like a banner. It is your message. It is the main idea and everything you say and teach your kids points back to this banner.
For example, your message might be, "Sex is a gift from God for marriage." This statement alone says so much when you break it down:
1) Sex is good and God approves
2) God planned sex so there must be a purpose for it
3) Sex is only for marriage
and many, many more things can be taken from this one message.
The more in love you are with your message, the more passionate you are, the more excited you are to share it.
"Because (insert your message here) then..."

Vocabulary
Be sure to use correct vocabulary with your kiddos. "Privates" is not the only word to use. Their "privates" should be kept "private" because it's all very "private!" Use words to label their anatomy (I'm kind of afraid to type those words here!!!!!) without giggling or turning red. She encouraged us to wow our kids with our knowledge and vocabulary. We want to set ourselves up from the very beginning as an authority on things of this topic. Tell them that you want to teach them the doctor names for parts of their body. Teach them to talk respectfully about these parts, never inappropriate. It's important to set yourself up as a loving authority.

Birth
It's good to teach our kids about birth...about their birth! Mommy does not have a baby in her "tummy." Great phrase to use here or anywhere on this topic..."By God's design..." By God's design He made a special place for the baby to grow inside mommy's tummy called a uterus. What if your kids haven't asked or inquired about birth or babies "how do they get in there?" kind of question...Then you can ask them, "Have you ever wondered...?"
Again here, wow them with your vocabulary.

Reproduction
Get your kids out into nature. Bring nature to them and make them aware of how all living things are made to reproduce. Plants, animals and humans all reproduce. Teach the basic principal of the seed and the egg.
The world sends a sensual message about sex. We want to play up God's design of sex and how we can marvel at the reproduction of a living thing. What an amazing God we serve!

Conception
The biggest question parents ask is when to talk about THIS with their kids. Every kid is different. A 1st born may be much more sheltered than a 4th born with a 17 year old big brother. You have to know your child and your situation.
We want to share the biology of sex with our kids, but not share the dangers or pleasures of sex before approximately age 10. Only basic biology of how the seed and egg meet is what is needed here. Everything else is, well..."private."

Continuing the Conversation
"I'm so glad you asked..." can be the phrase you're ready with whenever they ask questions. Make it so that they never remember a time when they couldn't talk with you about these topics. Remember, you are the authority in their mind. Continue to encourage them to talk freely with you, but reminding them that these are private family discussions and shouldn't be discussed with others or outside the home. Encourage them not to tell their friends as it is a private family discussion and his/her mommy will want to be the one to tell him/her.

I love the analogy she gave of a sponge. Your child is a sponge. We can't have the attitude of protecting their sponge and not letting one little drop of anything get into that sponge. If you do this, one day they will come across someone or something that will be the first to "fill up their sponge" with the message they have...the message that the world teaches about sex, not your prayerfully thought-through message. You may think you are protecting them, but really you are leaving them wide open for the world's message. We should be the first ones to fill up their sponge with the truth and then when they do encounter other messages they will just roll right off, as the sponge is already full. A full sponge of the right message is their protection!

One piece of encouragement that I found VERY practical is what they would say when they might chance upon an inappropriate advertisement or movie preview, for example. They would remove it from view immediately and then say, "I certainly hope they are married, but even if they are, what they are doing is private and no one should ever watch." This really emphasizes that overall message that you're trying to send.

Keep a running commentary with your kids. As they get older (4-6 grade) talk with them about what is going on in the culture, what you see on the magazine covers, celebrities lives (Tiger Woods right now, for example). Discuss these tough issues as they come up.

Next, flex the muscles of self-restraint. Don't feel bad for not allowing your kids to do whatever they want when they want to. "In our family we do things this way." This can be with having a toy or privilege that they really want. Delayed gratification. Ear piercing, sleepovers, growing up privileges that need to come on your time table and allow them the blessing of having to wait for something that is good. Do things in order. (see where this is going?)

Age 13-21 is a new stage. BEFORE they hit this age where puberty kicks in you should take them on a special weekend to talk with them about the next stage in their life that is coming up. Talk about their dreams for their life. Show them a time line of their whole life from birth to 90. Highlight the 13-21 and tell them that this is the age you want to discuss specifically. Talk about particular decisions in life and what the ramifications of certain decisions might be. Talk about how certain decisions might effect the dreams that they have for their life. Talk VERY candidly about issues and struggles they will face in these nearing years (I definitely won't be typing those things here). Once they hit puberty, little drops of wisdom here and there are usually better received than big talks..."You know, it would probably be a good idea to...or not to..."

I loved learning what just a "mom down the street" had to say about this topic. It truly was like a wise woman was sharing her pearls of wisdom with us. Just what we needed to hear. If you want to learn more...Mary Flo has a blog!

Visit her at: maryfloblog.com
Website: www.maryflo.org

After all ladies...these conversations need to happen "sooner than you think!!!!"

Tooth Fairy Frequenting

2010-04-11T21:24:00.000-05:00

The tooth fairy has practically gone broke here at our house!! Last weekend Cait was swimming in the hot tub when she busted her mouth on the side, knocking out her front tooth that wasn't very loose! The other tooth looked like it was barely hanging on. Paul and I were on a mission to get that tooth out of there.

Finally Wednesday night we convinced her that the tooth must come out. She was screaming and crying and begging us not to pull it. She is SUCH a drama queen!!!

None the less...it came out!!!

Here she is, all red in the eyes, showing off her cute-as-can-be toothless grin!

Proud brother trying to congratulate and console her (seriously, she was a mess)

Dad TRIED to pull the tooth, but her teeth are so little! He couldn't get his fingers around it. I gave it a try and finally pulled it out.

When the tooth fairy comes she brings dollars to B, but Cait prefers coins (she thinks they're more valuable than paper money, no matter how much we all try to explain to her. 20 pennies is MORE than two dollars in her mind!!!)

This trip the fairy brought her two dollars and 25 cents, a pack of gum and a cool HSM pen. She also dipped her wing in the cup of water by Cait's bed so we got to see that this time she was green. She left a lot of fairy dust, as usual, all over Cait's bed and pillow and hair. I love after looses a tooth, because she sparkles the whole next day!!

Ahhhh....these are the days, aren't they?

Sarah Noble Day

2010-04-10T13:04:00.000-05:00

The Courage of Sarah Noble is a classic book in children's literature that tells of a little girl in colonial times. Our second graders read this book and at the end of their book study have a hands-on learning day called Sarah Noble Day. It's a great way to learn...playing the games Sarah might have played instead of just reading about them.

And here is B dressed for the day as the cutest little pilgrim you ever did see!

Games!

Crafts!

Buddies

Beadwork

Mrs. Cook

B's class

Buddy Carter

Goofy shot

As I was heading back to my classroom from B's I noticed this view...one I have seen a thousand times and yet one that I will rarely see at the end of the year. It made me sad and nostalgic and I just wanted to capture it...on the way to 4C.

Valentine Friend

2010-04-09T17:48:00.000-05:00

Dear Laurie,

How do we love you? Let us count the ways! You are so very dear to our family! You are like a sister to me and an auntie to B and C. They love you!

Thank you for spending your Valentine's night with us!
You're the BEST!!

The Wedding

2010-04-06T22:59:00.000-05:00

What a joy it was to share in their day...knowing you prayed right along with them for the day to come. Well, it came and it was beautiful! Words can't express the joy we all felt at adding to our family with Nathan. God is so good!

Here are some amazing pictures of their day, as only Taylor can do!!

P.S. There are some sweet ones of Cait in the mix...my favorite is the black and white one of her in the window from behind! She looks like a young lady, not a little girl!

A sneak peek

2010-03-12T22:18:00.000-06:00

Here's just a little teaser from Taylor of the special day last weekend. Right now the newlyweds are laying on a beach in the Bahamas somewhere. Lucky! What sweet days.

As Paul told our children a few nights ago..."If God keeps answering our prayers the way He has, we're gonna run out of things to pray for." He is so good...and faithful...and perfect in His way and timing. Oh the joy of seeing His hand everywhere you look.

Cowboy Party for our Buckaroo

2010-03-08T20:27:00.000-06:00

Wow! What a party! Can you say horse in my backyard?
Oh yes, we did it. I don't know if you'd call it brave or stupid, but we did it and it was FUN!

I LOVE planning birthday parties for my children. It's just fun to me. I love the decorations, the favors, the cake made just for them...LOVE it! This year B requested a cowboy birthday party. How easy was that, with a grandpa that is a real cowboy and all? My dad planned all the games and brought a horse up to the suburbs of Dallas to teach a bunch of eight year-olds how to rope and ride. What fun!

The night before the party we stayed up late finishing up the details. I painted some cardboard fold outs to set out as decorations. Seeing as how it was late, Danyel, Ryan, Paul and I had a little goofy fun!! hee hee

Danyel got too sassy and I had to remind her who ran this here rodeo, as well as remind her that yellow is not her color (or mine).

Back to the party for the eight year old...we set it up nice and countrified just for our little buckaroo!

The cake I made. I made homemade fondant that actually tasted good!!! Don't look close though...it's not anywhere close to perfect! Now i know why pretty cakes cost so much money! They take SO long to make!!!!

Haystacks, trail mix and chuck wagon chili...um,mmmm good!

Before all the guests arrived, we had a little family gift opening. Here's Mia watching B open presents. I couldn't resist this shot with the belly hanging out and all!

Every boy needs a toy rifle!

We were SO blessed to have so many people able to come this year, family and friends. B really wanted the buddies from his class to come, and so that is what we did. Friends from school, a few cousins, a few friends that are almost as close as cousins, and a sister. There you have it! A party!

After the crowd arrived, it was time for some games! The first one on the agenda was Gold rush! The kids rushed around looking for gum disguised as gold coins.

Getting the crowd excited...ready, set, GO!

Game #2 was a rely race where they rode their "horse" around the barrels...like in a real rodeo. Except our rodeo had sad little stick horses with weird heads...but the kids didn't seem to be too bothered.

Game #3 was for the sharp shooters in the group. We lined up cans on the saw horses and let them shoot them off with water pistols. This was not for the faint of heart, seeing as it was about 30 degrees outside...no lie.

After this game it was time for some warming up on the inside! We enjoyed some chuck wagon chili with fritos! And to drink we had cactus juice, sarsaparilla and root beer.

Some kiddos were detained though...sad, so sad.

Then it was time for some ropin' demonstrations from a real live cowboy, aka. my dad.

Serious business here!

Riding time! For some of these kiddos it was their very first horse ride! How cool is that?

Elijah

Sweetheart Rebekah

Mia Beth

The birthday boy

Now for some singing and cake!

Presents!

Goody bags for our awesome friends!

We were all pooped after this party, but it was good clean fun for all! The birthday boy felt so special to have so many friends and family come to help him celebrate!

Yee Haw!

He's Eight

2010-03-02T19:05:00.000-06:00

Where does that time go? It never seems to stand still long enough to take it all in that you want to. My baby boy is eight. That's half-way to sixteen, which as I well know is practically grown. By then he'll have hair in his arm pits, a low voice and be taller than me. He'll be looking at girls not just as someone that chases him on the playground, but as a potential...well let's not get carried away. He's only eight right now, and at eight they still adore you and kiss your face and want you to sing to them at night and lay by them from time to time. When they're eight they still play with swords and legos and write stories where half the words are misspelled and the letters are large. The imaginary world of ninjas, cowboys, swords and heroes are what his play is made up of. He still thinks he can be multiple things at the same time when he grows up, like a scientist, inventor, ninja and daddy. Yes, he wants to be a daddy most of all. He tells us he wants to have lots of children when he finds a wife. He says that he will try washing their mouths out with soap when they sin instead of spanking them. He reasons that that method would be much more effective. He also says that he plans to never lie to his wife like his daddy lied to me. He prays at night that God would make him faithful to her and it breaks my heart and comforts me all at the same time.

Yes, he's only eight...so I still have more time. Time for kisses and tickles and karate demonstrations. More time to correct the spelling in his handwritten books and be the one to offer the comfort of a bandage after a bad fall. For now I can still get away with calling him my baby and singing the same lullabies to him at night that I began singing 8 years ago. What a delight he is...and continues to be.

He is eight.

You've already heard, I'm sure

2010-02-13T22:00:00.000-06:00

...but, we had a snow day here in Dallas/Fort Worth last week! It snowed a record 12 1/2 inches and I've honestly never seen anything like this in Texas. FUN times I tell you!

Cait continued to play in the snow long after brother chickened out. She made this snowman all by herself, save dad lifting the snowballs up for her.

This day was gift! It was wonderful to be with the ones I love most all day, stuck in a nice warm house! I love snow days!!